


The One That Got Away

by lizwontcry



Category: Baby-Sitters Club - Ann M. Martin
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-20
Updated: 2014-12-20
Packaged: 2018-03-02 09:10:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2807189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lizwontcry/pseuds/lizwontcry
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It may be 20 years later, but Claudia and Ashley still have unfinished business.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The One That Got Away

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lurrel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lurrel/gifts).



> Happy Yuletide! I'm not sure how you feel about Ashley, but she's who came to mind as a good match for Claudia in their post-school years. I also used to enjoy What Claudia Wore so I included some fun outfit descriptions for you. I hope you like it, and happy holidays!

Claudia was in the zone when she looked down at her phone and noticed it was 1:30, and by then she was officially late--as usual. But it couldn't be helped; she had her headphones on and was listening to some old school Madonna, whom she found to be very inspiring with her art lately. Think Madonna in the Like a Prayer video--that's who Claudia imagined herself aspiring to be with her latest piece. Don't worry, it made sense to Claudia somehow.

"Crap," she said, and dropped her paintbrush in a rush to get her purse and keys. However, the paintbrush missed the table and swiftly fell to the ground, leaving a lovely splotch of pink on the hardwood floor. Well, at least she had the carpets removed when she bought this place last year...so at least there's that.

The mess would have to wait for later. Claudia was now bordering on very late to meet Stacey at their favorite hole in the wall pizza joint. Stacey loved the salad there, and Claudia was a big fan of the dessert pizza. She wondered how she ever survived without chocolate and marshmallow pizza before the two of them discovered the place a few years ago.

Claudia dashed through the streets of Manhattan, and thankfully she didn't have to go far. The place was a few blocks from her apartment. She ran into Joe's Pizza, high-fived Joe on the way in, spotted Stacey and flew into her chair like she wasn't 20 minutes late. Stacey laughed.

"Hello, Claud. Nice to see you. Let me guess, you were in the middle of painting? You have that Madonna look about you today." Claudia was, in fact, rocking her mid-eighties look for lunch. She had on a gold bustier she bought at a garage sale for three dollars 15 years ago, dark blue capri pants with fringe, some ballerina flats she borrowed from Jessi once (and sort of forgot to give back), and enough jewelry to sink the Titanic, which included a cross necklace from when she went through her brief religious phase in college, and her prized banana earrings. What girl doesn't like some good banana earrings? 

Stacey, on the other hand, looked just as sophisticated and cool as ever. She had on a gorgeous black peacoat, and underneath, a red turtleneck sweater and dark gray pants, with the greatest pair of Christian Louboutin red spiked heels Claudia had ever set eyes on. She'd have to borrow those babies soon. Stacey had come from the hospital where she worked as an endocrinologist. Sure, when she was in junior high, she loved and excelled at math and everyone thought she'd become something boring and predictable like an accountant. But somewhere around her junior year of high school, and after talking extensively with Dr. Johannsen, Stacey decided she wanted to work in pediatric diabetes, so she could help kids and their parents with what she went through as a child. She loved her career, and Claudia was so proud of her.

Stacey didn't seem annoyed or surprised by Claudia's lateness. Claudia, as always, was grateful that she had such an understanding best friend, even after all these years.

"Yes! I am working on the painting for Susan," Claudia said. "She needs something for the new house in L.A. She's very particular about her art, so it's kind of a challenge. A fun challenge, though. "

"Oh, Susan Sarandon needs a new piece for her house in California, I see," Stacey said, laughing. "No big deal. Have I reminded you lately of what a bad ass you are?"

The truth was, Claudia _was _kind of a bad ass. And she was okay with saying that now, because it's not like it came easily. She had to work her way up--she took the crappiest jobs when she dropped out of college (because, let's face it, college was not her thing and never would be), until she met her mentor and good friend Sabrina at a gallery 12 years ago. Sabrina took Claudia under her wing and believed in her and mentored her, and with Sabrina’s guidance, Claudia honed her artistic skills and was able to work full time on her “masterpieces,” as Sabrina would call them. Through Sabrina, Claudia met many celebrities and wealthy people who wanted to own a Claudia Kishi original. This was the life she imagined having in her early teenage years and then couldn’t imagine having after dropping out of college. Sabrina was also the first woman Claudia fell in love with, and the first person to ever really break her heart. But that's a story for another time.__

Stacey ordered a salad and some garlic bread, and Claudia got two slices with the works. The two of them chatted about how their days were going. After a big forkful of salad, Stacey said, "Oh-em-gee, I am dying to know how your date went the other night. I haven't talked to you since then."

Claudia rolled her eyes. "It was a big dud. Victoria is gorgeous, obviously, but we had nothing in common. She actually admitted she has two Thomas Kinkaid paintings in her house, and she spoke so enthusiastically about them I wanted to cry forever. So I ended up leaving early."

Stacey frowned. "Yuck. That sounds terrible. Sorry, Claud."

"Ah, no big deal. I went home and ate cookie dough and popcorn and watched about six episodes of the Gilmore Girls on Netflix. It was a much more satisfying evening than anticipated."

"Still, though...you haven't been out with anyone worth mentioning for a while now. It must suck to be going through a dry spell like that," Stacey said, and Claudia laughed. She knew Stacey wasn't trying to rub it in. She'd just been married so long that being a witness to Claudia's crappy love life was so foreign to her. Stacey married her college sweetheart, Michael, right after graduation. The two of them were hopelessly in love and Claudia sometimes found herself coveting a relationship that intense and gratifying. She found a lot of satisfaction in her art, of course, but sometimes, even that wasn't enough to fulfill her.

Somewhat uncomfortable with where the conversation was heading, Claudia changed the subject to Stacey's daughter. "So how's Sara? Does she still have a crush on that dude in her Spanish class?"

"Oh, my goodness, of course not! She's 11 years old and her crushes change weekly. Now it's Davey in her math class. At least she's paying attention in class now. She wants to impress him or something. Were we that pathetic at that age? It was like a hundred years ago, I don't remember."

"Oh, we were like that," Claudia said. "Probably even worse. I mean, you do remember how boy crazy we got, don't you?" 

Stacey laughed. "Oh, my lord, that boy I liked in Sea City, for example. I guess Sara has to make her own mistakes. But I'd rather home school her than let her go through some of the things I did as a teenager."

Stacey took another bite of salad while Claudia inhaled more pizza. Stacey was mid drink of water when she looked like she had a revelation of some kind.

"Stace? You look like you just saw a ghost," Claudia said, curious as to what the hell was happening to her best friend.

"Claud...that woman in the corner over there, she keeps looking at us and I think I know why. She looks kind of familiar. Isn't that the girl you were friends with in junior high? Her name was Amanda or something."

Claudia dropped her napkin on the floor and turned around to get a peak of who Stacey was talking about. Her breath caught in her throat for a moment. She knew without a doubt, it was Ashley. Her hair was still long and blonde, almost as blonde as Dawn's. Her face was the same, almost, but it showed signs of the passage of time. She was way more gorgeous than Claudia remembered, however.

"Um, yeah, I think so. I think that's Ashley Wyeth. I can't believe it! I haven't seen her in so long." That wasn't exactly true. Sometimes she saw her at night, in the weirdest dreams ever. From time to time, Claudia found herself thinking about Ashley. She hadn't seen her since the last day of junior high, since Ashley moved to Texas or something and disappeared forever. She was too young to realize her feelings about Ashley at the time, but 20 years later, she had a pretty good idea what her confusion was all about. She's always wanted to see Ashley again, and there she was, right there at Joe's Pizza on a Tuesday afternoon. 

"Well, should we go talk to her? Want me to go say hi or something?" Stacey said, trying not to stare. Claudia was so grateful that Stacey just inherently understood. 

"Um, maybe in a second. I...need a moment."

Stacey smiled. "Okay, cool." Sensing that Claudia needed something else to talk about, she said, "So what are you going to do when you're done with Susan's painting?"

Claudia went into detail about a sculpture that Jon Bon Jovi was commissioning from her, which she found obscenely cool in an eighties fangirl kind of way. As she was describing the project, she felt a light tap on her shoulder. She turned around, heart beating wildly, and sure enough, there was Ashley.

"Hi, Claudia. Remember me? We went to junior high school together," Ashley said.

Claudia laughed nervously. "I do remember you, actually. This is Stacey, she went to school with us, too."

"Oh, right," Ashley said. "I think I remember you, too."

"Mm-hmm, nice to see you, Ashley," Stacey said. "Well, Claud, I have to get back to the hospital now, but call me later!" Before Claudia had a chance to protest, Stacey was gone. Well, alrighty then. 

Claudia was both irritated and relieved by Stacey's sudden departure. She hadn't seen Ashley in 20 years. What the hell were they going to talk about?

Ashley slid into Stacey's seat. Claudia got a good look at her outfit, which wasn't so different from the first time she saw Ashley, only this time, it was actually kind of in style. Ashley was wearing a long, flowy brown skirt, a lacey black blouse with some very impressive cleavage, big, black boots, and a lot of turquoise jewelry. Claudia appreciated the whole hippie aesthetic Ashley was apparently never going to let die.

And she couldn't stop staring at her, even if she wanted to, which she didn't. Ashley was gorgeous. Back in junior high, her look was just considered weird. But now, Ashley was rocking her style.

"Well, anyway, it's so funny we're meeting here in New York," Ashley said. "Do you live here?"

"Oh, yeah, a few blocks from here. My parents are still in Stoneybrook and I see them pretty often. How about you?"

"I live in Brooklyn. I went to Texas for college and moved here as soon as I graduated. It was definitely hard at first, but I wouldn't want to live anywhere else."

"I don't blame you," Claudia said. "The art community in this city is obviously amazing. It has so much history and culture and I love it so much."

Ashley nodded, and it was pleasant and comfortable because they understood. They shared a love and a passion, and it was easy and good.

"Well, Claudia, I really want to catch up, but I don't have much time right now," Ashley said, checking her phone. "Do you maybe want to come to my place tomorrow night?"

Claudia did, in fact, want to come to Ashley's place. Quite a lot, actually. But first, a clarification. "Sure! Are you having a party or something?"

Ashley grinned, and Claudia knew Ashley's intentions were probably the same as hers. And she was very, very glad. 

"No, it'll just be us. My roommate is out of town, so we'll have the place to ourselves. I'll order some Chinese food or something."

"I'll bring the wine," Claudia said. 

"Sounds amazing," Ashley said. "I'll text you the directions. See you tomorrow."

She gave Claudia one last, lingering look that unsettled Claudia a bit. She'd wanted to see Ashley again for so long, and now she was going to, and it was kind of overwhelming. Claudia couldn't help but get nervous and excited; she couldn't help but think this could be the start of something amazing.

*******

Claudia Kishi was 36 years old. Most of her friends were married and had kids. She was not married and did not particularly want kids. She did, however, have an apartment in New York City and an established and flourishing art career. Life was good, and she didn't have any regrets. She was a true, functioning adult. Yet the moments between Ashley leaving Joe's and the next evening when Claudia found herself at Ashley's door were practically unbearable. She felt like a teenage girl about to go on her first date. She had built up the legend of Ashley Wyeth in her head so much, Claudia was somewhat worried that it could only end in disaster. But when Ashley answered the door with a sly smile on her face, Claudia stopped worrying. This was going to be fun.

"Hey, Claud, come on in," Ashley said, and took the red wine Claudia offered to her. Claudia stepped into Ashley's apartment and was thoroughly impressed. Ashley was doing very well for herself. It was a typical artist's apartment--paintings everywhere, messy but clean, art supplies on every available surface. Claudia felt at home right away. Also, Ashley was wearing a short black skirt that showed off some very nice legs that Claudia couldn't help but admire. Her shirt was white with a black skull on it, and the theme of impressive cleavage was still on display. She had on a skull necklace and her earrings were little sticks of dynamite.

Claudia was wearing her favorite white Calvin Klein cashmere coat she bought for $32 at a thrift shop, and a very tight black dress that she was frequently complimented for, and her black stiletto Louboutins that Stacey gave her for her 34th birthday. It was a much more simple outfit than she'd usually wear on a date, but she felt good. Sophisticated.

"Nice dress," Ashley said, after giving Claudia a not-so-subtle once-over. "It really brings out your eyes." 

Claudia grinned. "Thanks. I like your skirt, too. Or lack thereof." What would a date be without a little harmless flirting?

Ashley laughed. "Ha, yeah, this is my first date skirt. It's pretty effective, don't you think?"

Clauda nods. "It gets the point across." This was too much. In a good way.

Ashley poured the wine into two glasses, handed one to Claudia, and they sat down on a cool black leather sofa that Claudia immediately coveted. They sat very closely together, and Claudia could get a good view of Ashley's legs in that damn skirt of hers.

"So, Claudia, tell me what's going on with you. Please tell me you're doing something with all that talent. It would break my heart if you weren't."

"I am, actually," Claudia said. "I've been doing some freelancing for some folks in Los Angeles. It's going well. I'm happy."

Ashley smiled at her again, which was unnerving. "That's great, really. I'm surprised I haven't heard your name around here. I guess the New York art scene is just that big. I have my own gallery, and I also do some freelancing. I'm not going to be buying any yachts soon or anything, but I'm doing all right."

"Well, cheers to doing all right," Claudia said, and they clinked their wine glasses together and took a big drink. 

"It's true; I never would have thought back in eighth grade in Stoneybrook, Connecticut, that you and I both would end up in New York City. I always dreamed about it, of course, but I never thought it would actually happen."

Claudia laughed. "It's hard to picture myself back then. I was so young, and I was struggling so much in school."

"I remember," Ashley said. "You were my only friend for so long. I was so weird back then, I know. It was hard to be so focused on art when there was nothing I could really do about it, and nobody who understood. Except you, of course."

"It was nice to be around someone who got it," Claudia said. "It was just a bummer we couldn't really see eye to eye about it back then."

Ashley laughs. "Oh, that's right, we had a big fight about it, didn't we? I was so passionate and I wanted you to be, too. It took me a while, but I mellowed out a lot, especially those last years in high school. I learned not to take everything so seriously, and I was a lot happier for it."

"I can tell," Claudia replied. "It suits you."

"So tell me, Claud, what happened to all those baby-sitting friends of yours? Do you still talk to them?"

"Most of them," Claudia said. "What, do you really want me to tell you what they're all doing now?"

"I do! Your club thing was so weird to me at that age. Actually, at any age. I've never cared about kids that much, and I thought it was so odd to me how much time and effort you put into it. Sometimes I even wonder what happened to that little redhead you used to baby-sit, the strange little dude and his brothers."

Claudia laughed. The whole baby-sitting thing was such a huge part of her past. She remembered it fondly, but as though it was a whole lifetime ago. Did she really used to be that person?

"Well, Jackie Rodowsky was the redhead, and you'll never guess what he does now."

Ashley put her glass down on the table and grinned. "What? He's a...stuntman. No? A gymnast. A manager at a grocery store. A zoologist. Oh, come on, Claud, I give up!"

"He's a gynecologist," Claudia said, and they both laughed until they cried. It wasn't that funny, but Claudia was happy to make Ashley laugh.

"Well, I have to say, I'm very grateful he's not _my_ gynecologist. So, what else? Fill me in, I need all the gossip!" Claudia was surprised by this for some reason; it always seemed like Ashley was completely uninterested in stuff like that. But people change, and Ashley wasn't 13 years old anymore. Claudia dug Ashley's enthusiasm.

"Let's see...Kristy has her own PR firm, which is great because she can boss people around all day. She's divorced with an 11 year old boy. She lives in Boston. Stacey's a doctor in Manhattan, married with a pre-teen girl. Mary Anne's married to Logan and they have four kids, she stays at home with them and Logan is a professional baseball player. They broke up for a long time, but got back together after graduating from college. They're adorable. Dawn moved back to California and she does a lot of stuff, like teaches yoga and sells her own yogurt and that kind of thing. I actually haven't spoken to her in like seven years or something because she doesn't have a cell phone and refuses to touch email. I only get updates through Mary Anne. Mallory is married to a woman she met in a writing workshop; they live on a ranch with like 16 horses or something, and she's a pretty popular young adult writer. Jessi is a hardcore ballet dancer, she kind of moves around Europe a lot with her husband and has two little girls." Claudia stopped and exhaled. Was she missing anybody? 

"Wow," Ashley said. "That's...great. Well, I'm glad you ended up here. I'm so glad to see you again. I've always hoped to run into you."

Claudia can't help but grin. "Really? I hoped so, too."

Ashley nods. "It's like...I couldn't put a name on the feelings I had back then, but of course I understand it now. I think maybe you were the first girl I had a crush on. It would explain why I'd always get so jealous when you'd hang out with your friends instead of me."

Claudia didn't know if she was the kind of girl who blushed when she felt kind of funny, but she was pretty sure she was blushing now. 

"That's amazing, Ash. I feel the exact same way." Claudia wanted to say more--a lot more, but she didn't need to blurt everything out right away. Hopefully they'd have time in the future to get to that point.

"Well, good," Ashley said. "I'm glad we're on the same page, then."

"Me, too," Claudia said, and they grinned at each other, knowing that this was all going to be very interesting. 

Over dinner of pasta and more wine, they talked and gossiped about the art world, their mutual acquaintances, books they've read lately, trips they've taken. Claudia was truly startled by how much they had in common, and how this made so much sense. After they were finished eating, it was back to the black leather couch to watch a movie. Neither of them cared what movie, so they decided on the Breakfast Club. 

"I've seen it like 319 times, so I don't have to pay too close attention to it," Ashley said. 

"Oh, really? Why wouldn't you want to pay attention?" Claudia asked shyly. Ashley laughed again, but didn't answer the question.

Ashley put the movie on and turned the lights off. The two of them curled up together, and Claudia couldn't help but enjoy the heat of Ashley's body next to hers. 

Before all the Brat Pack had even gotten out of their cars, Ashley and Claudia were kissing. They just turned to each other and it happened, and it was oh, so good. Ashley's lips tasted like wine and electricity. And it kept going, and going, and going...Claudia hadn't had a make-out session like that since her early twenties. They just don't make 'em like that anymore. 

"Well, that was...nice," Ashley said when they were finally able to come up for air.

"It was," Claudia agreed. "So nice that I'd kinda like to do it again."

"Oh, good, me, too," Ashley said, and then there was more kissing. Claudia ran her hand through Ashley's long hair, and Ashley bit Claudia's lip. Things were getting heated, and Claudia wanted more, but didn't want to ruin the moment. So the two of them made out like horny teenagers the entire duration of the Breakfast Club. Claudia knew when they decided to take it further, it would be amazing. They had some crazy chemistry she was looking forward to exploring, and hopefully as soon as possible.

When the movie was over, the two of them detached themselves, and Claudia said, "I can't wait to do that again."

"Oh, yeah. Soon. Like, maybe in an hour or so?" Ashley said, and they both giggled.

"How about tomorrow night at my place? I'll cook this time."

"And I'll bring the wine," Ashley said.

"Perfect," Claudia said, and got up to get her purse and coat. At the door, Ashley pinned her against it and there was more kissing and maybe a little groping to make the night a tad bit more interesting. 

"See you tomorrow," Ashley said after releasing Claudia.

"I can't wait," Claudia said, and then she was gone. And she couldn't wait. Not only for their next make-out session, but all the rest. It might have taken 20 years, but the two of them were finally on the same page.

During the cab ride home, Claudia checked her phone. She had a text from Stacey that said _How'd it go? You happy?_ Claudia texted back, _Verry. Can't wait to see her again._ Stacey texted back a smiley face, and then _Good, you deserve it!_ Claudia looked out the window of the cab as it sped past the sights and sounds New York in all its glory, and Claudia thought to herself, _finally._


End file.
